Lifetime Movie scores with ‘Holloway’

Original telepic bows to 3.2 million viewers

Lifetime Movie Network bagged record ratings Sunday for its original telepic “Natalee Holloway.”

An average aud of 3.2 million tuned in to see the movie — the best showing in the network’s 11-year history, according to preliminary Nielsen nationals. It drew a little more than 1 million women 18-49, also the best to date for the network.

Previous record for an LMN movie came with the concluding night of the two-part movie “Capture of the Green River Killer” in March 2008 (2.4 million viewers overall, 594,000 in women 18-49).

Also Sunday, USA’s “In Plain Sight” returned for its second season to an average aud of 5.1 million viewers, according to preliminary Nielsens. That’s up 14% over the series premiere in June, when it didn’t face original broadcast competish.

And in adults 18-49, “In Plain Sight” — last year’s top-rated cable newcomer — edged out the concluding hour of an original movie on CBS to place third in its 10 o’clock timeslot.

ABC won the night among young adults behind the first new segs of “Desperate Housewives” (prelim 4.7/11 in 18-49, 13.6 million) and “Brothers and Sisters” (prelim 3.3/9, 9.63 million) since March.

Fox didn’t generate much excitement for its new comedy “Sit Down, Shut Up” at 8:30 p.m. (prelim 2.3/6 in 18-49, 5.2 million). It sagged between the higher-rated “The Simpsons” (prelim 3.0/9, 6.5 million) and “Family Guy” (prelim 3.8/9, 7.4 million), although it led its timeslot in adults 18-34 (2.7/8).